Description

Symposium
Analogue and numerical forward modelling of sedimentary systems; from understanding to prediction

Utrecht, Netherlands, Thursday ¡V Saturday 9-11 October 2003

Understanding the origins of stratal architectures has traditionally been based on qualitative studies of inferences of geological processes and history from outcrop, well and seismic data, and to a lesser extent by quantitative observation of modern sedimentary processes. Today, predictions that were made on the basis of these studies are tested and also extended through the application of numerical and analogue forward models. For example, numerical forward models are used to make quantitative predictions of reservoir and seal distributions away from points constrained by well-data; similar models are also used to predict response of modern coastal systems to rising sea level, taking into account the external forcings, as well as the internal dynamics of sedimentary systems with their inherent non-linear and chaotic effects. This symposium is intended to make a contribution to this process of developing and applying models through presentations organised into two themes:

Prediction
„h Quality and power of predictions of the 3 D architecture of sedimentary rocks in the subsurface;
„h Quality and power of predictions of future evolution of modern sedimentary systems;
„h Scale-dependence and independence in stratal architectures;
„h Limits to predictability arising from non-linear and chaotic behaviour;
„h Incorporation of numerical and physical forward models into uncertainty analysis methods;
„h Suitability of rule-based, geometric, process and hybrid models for different applications;
„h Case studies.

Venue

Additional Information

Format of the meeting
Poster presentations will have a central position in the meeting. In the plenary session a 5-minute oral introduction will be scheduled for each of the posters and for other presentations such as model demonstrations.
Oral presentations will be confined to invited speakers and to authors of posters dealing with topics of special and broad interest.
During the conference a demonstration will be given of Eurotank, a new flume tank of Utrecht University with vertically adjustable tank floor.
Computer facilities for demonstrations will be available.
Location: Netherlands Institute of Applied Geoscience TNO - National Geological Survey, Uithof University Campus, Utrecht. See map on website.
For information
website: http:basinmodelling.geo.uu.nl
email: basinmodelling@geo.uu.nl
Invited lectures:
John Bridge (Binghamton, USA) "Modelling of the large-scale architecture of alluvial deposits"
Frans van Buchem, Didier Granjeon & Remi Eschard (IFP, France) "Outcrop and seismic constraints for 3D numerical stratigraphic forward modelling: examples from siliciclastic, carbonate and source rock systems"
Peter Burgess (Shell Research) "Limits to predictability arising from non-linear and chaotic behaviour"
Sierd Cloetingh (Free Univ. Amsterdam) "Numerical modelling of tectonic controls on sedimentary basins fill: constraints on interplay of lithosphere deformation and surface processes"
George Postma (Utrecht Univ. Netherlands) "Analogue modelling of landscape evolution and stratigraphy"
Rudy Slingerland (Penn State Univ., USA) "The Community Surface-Dynamics Modeling System: An Environment for Developing, Sharing, and Using Sediment Models"
John Tipper (Freiburg, Germ.) "Models that talk back"
Greg Tucker (Oxford Univ. UK) "Modelling the impacts of climate change on erosion, sediment production, and landscape evolution"
Juerg Feurer & Kees van der Zwan (Shell Research Netherlands) "Incorporation of numerical and physical forward models into uncertainty analysis methods"
David Waltham (Roy. Holloway Univ. London) "Numerical modelling of syn-tectonic sedimentation"